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Pandora
The Pandora is the ECA's ultimate answer to massive enemy mobilization, base defenses and heavy artillery. It requires activation in the Research Facility after the appropriate General's Promotion is obtained, being one of the ECA's Emergency Protocols. Lore One of the most feared albeit decisive weapons deployed in the Russo-European War, the Pandora is a military refit of a European Space Agency payload delivery mechanism that used an electromagnetic railgun to fire small satellites and Solaris maintenance equipment into orbit. By the time Russian forces found themselves at the verge of victory in southern France, ECA high command made a controversial decision to avert its defeat: Despite the official ban on neutron weapons that had been imposed on behalf of China after the Global War on Terror, the European nuclear powers Britain and France have modified some of their regular nuclear weapons into so-called 'enhanced radiation warheads'. Whilst just as devastating as any other tactical nuclear weapon, these neutron bombs are designed to emit an extreme magnitude of radiation during the explosion which is strong enough to penetrate the armor of even the most heavily protected vehicles, leaving them intact for capture by anyone willing and desperate enough to stomach the sight of what remains inside after the crew members have succumbed to the neutrons. The Pandora is capable of launching these terrifying warheads over long distances, letting them detonate right upon impact or upon delayed proximity activation after they have hit the ground. Unit Description The Pandora is one of the ECA's most feared weapons systems. Mounting a long range railgun, the Pandora has an impressive range, rivaling Tomahawks in Cruise mode. The Pandora also possesses truly devastating firepower. A direct hit from one of the Pandora's warheads will destroy any unit, and vehicles that survive the blast will be depiloted, allowing ECA forces to capture them for themselves once the lethal radiation has subsided. Alternatively, the Pandora can also launch a neutron mine, which will stay buried in the ground until enemy forces trigger it. However, while a formidable weapon, the Pandora has many weaknesses. It is one of the most expensive units in the game, costing $2000 to research the protocol and an additional $3000 to produce the unit itself, as well as a General's point. As an artillery piece, it has a massive dead zone and only moderate armor. It also has a very long reload time, and must deploy and charge up before it can fire, which gives faster units time to escape. Researching the Pandora protocol also has several other effects; the Tear Gas Strike Generals' Power is upgraded to a lethal Nerve Gas Strike, which depilots vehicles and kills infantry, while the Smart Bomb is replaced by a Neutron Bomb. 'Tactics' While expensive, the Pandora's sheer destructive power makes it worthwhile. Though the Pandora may do massive damage, it requires (by artillery standards) a long reload time, and requires multiple shells to destroy a structure. The best use of the Pandora is targeted strikes against high value vehicles, clusters of enemies, or grouped base defenses. The neutron warheads have a side effect of clearing any enemy structures. This is exceptionally useful against turtling generals, or on urban maps. The neutron mines detonate upon being triggered by an enemy unit, and can also be manually triggered by the commander. However, the mines can be detected by the enemy, and destroyed with conventional weapons. This destruction will not cause the mine to detonate. Combined with the upgraded Generals' Powers the Pandora protocol unlocks, the Pandora can be used to effectively clear an enemy base before an assault, or to turn an enemy's army against them. 'Pros and Cons' Pros: *Long range. *Extremely high damage. *Able to depilot enemy vehicles. Cons: *High price. *Large dead zone. *Must set up to fire. *Large and slow. *Build limit of one. *After its destruction, cannot be built again until a minute has passed. Quotes: When created: Neutron warheads primed. when selected: Launch rails, magnifiest. Platform is operational. This is it. I don't think this is morally justified. Radiation? What radiation? May Europe stand together. when moving: Alright crew, we're moving. Repositioning the Panodra. approaching grid location. Platform is on the move. Will be there sir. I hope we don't get shot at. Yes sir. when attacking: Launching. If this doesn't stop them, nothing will. Turning piece in three, two one. Let's make this one count. Never again. I was hoping we woudn't need to use it. This ends now. I hope this works. When firing mine: It will soon be scorched earth. Yes sir. Planting neutron mine. May our children forgive us. Gallery EU_Cobra-NeutronTank.jpg|Cobra Tank concept art from the (now merged) Rise of Europe mod. Trivia *The Pandora uses a railgun. A railgun is able to fire farther than conventional gunpowder cannons, explaining how it has such a long range over its competitors. *The Pandora and the Nuke Cannon are both able to fire a nuclear shell, though the only nuclear artillery piece to exist in real life was the US M65 Atomic Cannon, aka the Atomic Annie. Other nations may have created nuclear shells for their artillery, but the M65 was the only purpose built nuclear artillery piece to exist. *The shell used by Pandora is an example of a salted nuclear warhead, consisting of extremely radioactive material placed inside the warhead, giving it a more concentrated radiation burst. *The Pandora Chassis was mildly inspired by the Warhammer 40,000 Baneblade body. *Originally, the Pandora was known as the "Cobra-Neutron Tank" in the old Rise of Europe mod. It was supposed to fire a high-concentrated neutron radiation beam. But since Rise of Europe merged with Rise of The Reds, the Cobra was redesigned and converted into the actual Pandora. Faction Arsenal Category:European Continental Alliance Category:Vehicles Category:Artillery Category:Prototypes Category:ECA vehicles‎